Image: Children in Ernabella as part of Carclew’s Tjitji Tjutaku Inma project, 2012. Photo: Lee-Ann Buckskin.

Tjitjiku Tjukurpa

The Children's Dreaming Project

Language and Arts!

In past years, Carclew has played a lead role to facilitate teaching and recording of Pitjantjatjara and Yankunytjatjara Inma and languages across the APY Lands, through the Tjitjiku Inma project and the creation of a trilingual learning resource.

In partnership with Lee-Ann Buckskin & Associates, Carclew is proud to be moving into the second phase of this important project with Tjitjiku Tjukurpa (The Children’s Dreaming) project.

Under the guidance of cultural custodians, Tjitjiku Tjukurpa focuses on working with children from Amata, Pukatja, Mimili and Davenport Communities to teach and record ancient Inma in Pitjantjatjara and Yankunytjatjara languages, through exploration into the Seven Sisters Dreaming from this region.

Children will undertake an 8-day journey, tracking the Seven Sisters Songline from Whyalla through to Amata and ending at the sacred Cave Hill site. << READ THE MEDIA RELEASE>>

Along the way, stops will be made to learn Inma – song, dance and walka – from significant cultural custodians. A key outcome will be the development of a digital resource, which aims to better assist community and educators in teaching Aboriginal content in the classroom.

FOLLOW THE JOURNEY THROUGH CARCLEW STORIES ON INSTAGRAM AND FACEBOOK

Following the journey, children will participate in workshops that devise contemporary reimaginings of the Seven Sisters Dreaming. With Amata focusing on dance with Tapaya Edwards; Mimili on song with Electric Fields’ Zaachariaha Fielding and Pukatja on claymation animation with renowned animator Jonathan Daw. Project outcomes will be presented in 2020.

Tjitjiku Tjukurpa is made up of 4 key projects:

The Excursion – 16-23 June 2019

The project kicks-off with a group of thirty children from associated communities undertaking an 8-day journey, tracking the Seven Sisters Songline from Whyalla through to Amata and ending at the sacred Cave Hill site. Along the way, stops will be made to learn relatable inma–song, dance and walka from significant cultural custodians. A key outcome of this deliverable will be the development of a digital resource, which aims to better assist educators in teaching specific Aboriginal content in the classroom.

Amata Residency – Term 1 and 3 2019

During the Amata residency, children will learn ancient Inma and Walka of the Seven Sisters Dreaming. Inma is the ceremonial song and dance that accompanies the Tjukurpa (dreaming stories), and Walka, the body paint. Children will also learn the ancient art of Punu (traditional wood work). It is vital for the next generations to learn these art forms to ensure this ancient knowledge is not lost.

Pukatja (Ernabella) Residency – Term 3 2019

The Pukatja residency will see children work with renowned claymation artist Jonathan Daw, to recreate the Seven Sisters into a contemporary children’s animation. Students will be able to take the ancient story and transform into a visual Claymation of their imagining.

Mimili Residency – Term 4 2019

This residency will see Mimili School students work with contemporary music duo, Electric Fields, to transform the ancient songs of the Seven Sisters into modern contemporary music tracks. The students will work with Electric Fields during a one week residency to workshop and record the songs.

At the end of the 2019 residency’s, the four projects will be brought together for a public outcome, where we will see a live performance of the Inma performed by the children from Amata, a screening of the Claymation video and a performance of the contemporary song/s by the Mimili children and Electric Fields.

To ensure the story and project lives on, and is accessible to all students to come, the projects contents will also be produced into an educational and interactive website that teachers can use in the classroom.

Program enquiries:
Bethany Ashley-Ward, Manager – Arts Programs. Email: b.ashley@carclew.org.au
Lilla Berry, Project Officer - Arts Programs. Email: lberry@carclew.org.au

If you or your organisation is interested in supporting high quality creative experiences for Aboriginal children and remote communities, we welcome you to get in touch to discuss further.
Lucy Markey, Senior Manager, Marketing & Development
Email lmarkey@carclew.org.au, Phone 08 8230 1118 / 0411 106 257

Tjitjiku Inma

Of the 145 Indigenous languages still spoken in Australia, 110 are critically endangered. The National Indigenous Language Survey Report, 2005.

Tjitjiku Inma, a significant Carclew project to assist conservation of the Pitjantjatjara and Yankunytjatjara languages and community stories, was delivered in outback South Australia.

In the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) Lands and the Maralinga Tjarutja Lands, Carclew played a leading role in an inclusive effort to teach and record Pitjantjatjara and Yankunytjatjara ‘inma’ – traditional ceremonies told through community stories and dances.

Carclew has worked closely with Pitjantjatjara communities to create learning resources comprising of key inma. These tools (a book, DVD and CD) can be used by teachers, families and community leaders to assist in the learning process around these crucial cultural assets.

The project Tjitjiku (/chi-chi-ku/) Inma (loosely translated as ‘Children’s Ceremony’), was developed 7 years ago by Pitjantjatjara elders who were concerned that their stories were in jeopardy. Faced with modern cultural pressures, fewer Pitjantjatjara and Yankunytjatjara children were learning the Anangu language and without this language the inma was also being compromised.

Carclew has worked with Pitjantjatjara communities to reverse the decline, to help retain the traditional languages and inma within Indigenous communities and at the same time provide skills training for young Indigenous participants.

Tjitjiku Inma has involved 11 Pitjantjatjara communities and in excess of 500 Indigenous school students.

Importantly, this teaching effort is being supported by the state government education system, at schools in the communities and in metropolitan Adelaide. The children are also being encouraged to talk to their family members about the stories, so the whole community becomes involved.

As part of the project young people aged between 16 and 25 were employed to assist in the delivery of the project and provide translations for the DVD and book. A further 30 students from across the 11 participating communities participated in the recording and reporting of the project, acting as on-site translators and interacting with the elders.

This project is funded through Federal Government Closing the Gap, Remote Service Delivery and Indigenous Language Support programs.